Theravada Buddhism

General Information

Introduction

Theravada Buddhism, along with Mahayana Buddhism, are the two
principal branches of Buddhist belief. It is most widespread in
Sri Lanka, Myanmar (formerly known as Burma), Laos, Cambodia, and
Thailand. Like Mahayana Buddhism, Theravada (Pali for "School
of the Elders") claims to perpetuate the true teachings and
practices of the Buddha.

The Theravada school traces its descent from the original sangha,
or monastic community, that first followed the Buddha. Its canon
of scripture consists of the Tipitaka (Three Baskets), the first
great compendium of Buddhist writings, composed in the Pali
language. Theravada tends toward doctrinal conservatism,
exemplified in a cautious interpretation of its canon. Because
of this, it has been given the pejorative name Hinayana
(Sanskrit for "Lesser Vehicle") by its rivals, who call
their own tradition Mahayana ("Greater Vehicle").
The goal of the Theravadin, or devotee of Theravada, is to
become an arhat, a sage who has achieved nirvana (enlightenment)
and will never be reborn. Mahayana traditionally prefers the figure
of the bodhisattva - who, out of compassion, helps others toward
salvation - to the arhat, who is concerned chiefly with his own salvation.

Origins and Development

Theravada was the only tradition among the so-called Eighteen Schools
of early Buddhism to survive the first centuries after the Buddha's
death in the 5th century BC. Some authorities trace its origins
to the events following the second great council of Buddhism at
Vaishali, India, in 383 BC, in which novel interpretations of
doctrine were condemned by conservatives - the Theras (Elders) -
who thereby became the originators of Theravada orthodoxy. The
reformers, in turn, accused the conservatives of being too
self-absorbed and dogmatic. The ideological split was confirmed
at the third council, convened by King Ashoka at PÔtaliputra
(now Patna, India) in about 250 BC. After that, according to
tradition, the orthodox school is said to have been spread to
Sri Lanka by Ashoka's son, the monk Mahinda. There it became a
national creed, centered at the great monastery of Mahavihara and
closely associated with the Sri Lankan monarchy. Ashoka's
missionaries also spread Theravada Buddhism to Myanmar and Thailand.
For much of the 1st millennium AD, Theravada existed alongside
Mahayana and esoteric Buddhism in all these areas.

While other early sects died out or were absorbed into
Mahayana Buddhism, Theravada retained its identity. Similarly,
when Buddhism died out in India after the 12th century AD,
Theravada kept its hold in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia. In about
the 10th century, a Theravada reform movement began in Sri Lanka
that consolidated the kingdom as a Theravada monarchy. The
reform movement spread to Burma and Thailand, where it revitalized
the Theravada tradition and ensured its supremacy over other
Buddhist sects. Reformers also carried the creed into Cambodia
and Laos, where the geographical limits of Theravada predominance
were reached. Despite some Theravada followers in Vietnam and
elsewhere, Mahayana Buddhism became the dominant tradition in
the rest of the Buddhist world.

Despite the European colonialism that began in the early 19th
century, Theravada continued in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia,
in some areas becoming identified with nascent nationalist
movements. In Sri Lanka, during the 18th and 19th centuries,
Theravada split into factions, mostly over questions regarding
the caste of worshippers. Thailand began reform of its Theravada
tradition in the 19th century as part of the general national
reform initiated in response to European colonialism, and the
country has remained a fertile source of Theravada reform movements.
In the 1980s and 1990s, Theravada became an important factor in
civil strife between the Buddhist Sinhalese majority and the
Tamil minority of Sri Lanka, with some militant Buddhists
promoting a vigorous Sinhalese nationalism. In Myanmar, Theravada
has become one element of the rigidly conservative political
and social policies of the country's military rulers. Theravada
in Laos and Cambodia suffered a setback during the Vietnam War
(1959-1975) and the subsequent Communist domination but appeared
to be reviving in the 1990s. Theravada has been reestablished
in India in the modern era by the mass conversion to Theravada
Buddhism of Harijans (the so-called Untouchables, who fall
outside the traditional class divisions of Hindu society), who
are attracted by Buddhism's indifference to Hindu concepts of caste.

Organization

Theravada organization is in principle based on the original
instructions of the Buddha as laid down in the Vinaya Pitaka,
the compendium of 227 rules for monastic discipline that forms
part of the Tipitaka. Since the sangha is the core institution of
Buddhism, its structure is the basis of Theravada organization.
Theravada monks were traditionally criticized by Mahayana believers
for being too concerned with their own salvation and for
indifference to the lay community. Theravada doctrine holds
that only a monk can attain nirvana and that the laity can
only aspire to be reborn as a monk after many reincarnations
spent discharging the burden of karma (intentional action that
determines one's future destiny). However, in some countries,
especially Myanmar and Thailand, young men are placed in monasteries
temporarily as part of their education, thus fostering lay
involvement in the sangha.

Most countries with large numbers of Theravada adherents exhibit
strong historical ties between the Buddhist hierarchy and the
government. In such countries, Ashoka's beneficent propagation
of Buddhism has been accepted as the exemplar of wise and
legitimate government and as a precedent for state involvement
in religious affairs. The state and the sangha are often seen
as complementary and mutually supportive, ministering respectively
to the secular and religious needs of the people. The temples
themselves are loosely coordinated in most Southeast Asian
countries, with little in the way of formal hierarchy between
them. In early Sri Lankan Buddhism, a short-lived and limited
practice of clerical marriage developed, and charge of particular
temples was passed from father to son.

Theravada has a notable tradition of forest-dwelling hermits who
exist outside the monastic organizations. In contrast to Mahayana
Buddhism, since about AD 500, Theravada has had no orders of
Buddhist nuns. There is limited participation in the sangha by
women and lay people, who generally wear white robes and take up
asceticism (self-denial) without entering a monastic order.

Doctrine

Theravada claims to abide by the original teachings of the historical
Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama. Theravada doctrine reveres the Buddha
as a single supremely gifted, yet mortal, teacher, in contrast
to the succession of transcendent beings postulated by Mahayana.
Some Theravada scriptures list other Buddhas, but in general
the emphasis is on the one historical Buddha, on the grounds
that no universe can bear more than one Buddha without shattering.

The dharma, or teachings, of the historical Buddha are usually
regarded as being contained in the Tipitaka. Unlike Mahayana,
which has generated a vast number of additional sutras (scriptural
texts), Theravada confines itself to this core dharma. The
Theravada canon is recorded in Pali, a dialect popular during
the Buddha's lifetime. Other works highly esteemed in
Theravada - particularly the dialogues in the Milindapanha
(2nd century AD; translated as Questions of King Milinda, 1963),
and the Visuddhimagga (5th century AD; Path of Purification, 1964)
by the great Buddhist commentator Buddhaghosa - are regarded by
most scholars as authoritative collections rather than as the
fruit of further revelations of dharma (although the Milindapanha
is considered canonical by the Myanmar).

The dharma of Theravada regards human existence as a complex of
various transient aspects, also called dharmas. These dharmas
are grouped in overlapping categories of 5 components (skandhas),
12 bases (ayatana), and 18 perceptual elements (dhatu). The
5 components are the physical body (rupa), feelings (vedana),
cognitive perception (sanna), mental predispositions (sankhara),
and consciousness (vij˝ana). The 12 bases are the 5 sensory organs
with their 5 sensory fields, plus the mind and the object of
mental perception. The 18 elements are the 5 sensory organs plus
the mind, their 6 associated objects, and the 6 so-called
consciousnesses of ear, eye, nose, mouth, body, and mind. These
dharmas create a composite being not united by any enduring
soul (atman) or identity: There is no self in the strict sense.
The Theravadin endeavors to manipulate the dharmas so as to
suspend the action of karma and thereby to achieve nirvana.
Theravada is therefore less a philosophical doctrine than an
almost scientific discipline, although it depends on a complex
cosmology of cyclical, multiple worlds and an involved scheme
of reincarnation.